Glossop 3rd... 32 – St Mary’s Old Boys 3rd...7
Saturday 17th November 2007
After the relative ease of victory over Dukinfield last week St Mary’s Old Boys were a completely different kettle of fish. After travelling from just outside Liverpool for this cup game they were prepared for a fight against the in form Glossop team and that’s certainly what they gave. The match started fairly solidly for both teams, neither wanting to give away the first points. Despite the strength of the wind on Saturday it didn’t seem to present either team an advantage and so for roughly the first twenty minutes the ball was largely kept in hand. The forwards led by team captain Kev Swift at prop had shown their early domination in the scrum and it was some impressive drives and scrums won against the head that led to Marshall also playing prop to break the deadlock and score the first try of the game and continue his personal tally as this years top try scorer. The St Mary’s fight back was rapid however and after a lengthy kick down field a nasty bounce gave the visitors a break that they should have scored from and it was some impressive tackling from fullback Parker and a fortunate knock on that saved Glossop conceding points. After this the home team rallied and continued to show their strength in the forwards and applied lots of pressure in the St Mary’s twenty two. During this period last week’s hat trick hero Sash injured his leg bringing on Wilson who went to flanker pushing Littlewood to number eight. The pack held strong though and continued to drive well giving Littlewood an eventful time at the back of the scrum, picking up ball won on the visitors put in. Glossop should have scored on numerous occasions but the defensive line held strong. It was eventually undone however by a strong drive over the line by hooker Andy Williamson. After the second try St Mary’s started to lose some of their discipline and penalties for chatting back at the referee became a regular occurrence. Glossop kept their cool and mouths shut and despite their forward supremacy couldn’t capitalise any further before the break. A ten to nothing lead was a fair result going into half time but it certainly wasn’t enough to secure victory. From the kick off St Mary’s made it clear that they hadn’t given, pressing the Glossop defence back into their own twenty two but once again the strong defensive line of the backs and the domination of the scrums by the forwards eventually broke the St Mary’s push and Glossop were back in the visitors’ half. Again the game looked like either team could score but the ball eventually came to winger Ben Thommason whose pace and power took him over the line from a well angled run. Kev Swift also appeared to have scored after a fantastic rolling maul that went over the line but the ref decided that it had been held up. Following this a long session of scrumaging ensued. Almost every scrum was won during this period by Glossop however they couldn’t quite seem to get the ball over the try line despite many attempts. St Mary’s had some strong runners of their own and their efforts were finally rewarded with a try and the added conversion started to put doubts in the Glossop players’ minds who were clearly riled by the frustration of not securing the win. It took a sneaky try from second row Rob Smith, picking up from the base of a ruck and diving over the line to settle those frustrations. Whiston added the two points and the home team were back on track again. After a long kick down field centre Chris Snape put heaps of pressure on the St Mary’s fullback who was tackled and in turn lost the ball giving Snape an easy run in for the try. The game was now settled and Glossop were cruising. Scrum after scrum was won whether the home teams put in or not. St Mary’s didn’t have an answer for the power of the pack or hooking ability displayed by Williamson. The call was made by Swift to get another rolling maul started and soon after he was rewarded with a try from said move. It capped off a great performance in a game that was closer on the field than the score line suggested and deservedly puts Glossop 3rds into the next round of the cup.
Team Sheet - 1. Swift 2. Williamson 3. Marshall 4. Deacon 5. Smith 6. Baughan 7. Littlewood 8. Sash 9. Alderdyce 10. Whiston 11. Thommason 12. Robinson 13. Snape 14. Marsden 15. Parker 16. Wilson 17. Shiels 18. Carrick
Saturday 17th November 2007
After the relative ease of victory over Dukinfield last week St Mary’s Old Boys were a completely different kettle of fish. After travelling from just outside Liverpool for this cup game they were prepared for a fight against the in form Glossop team and that’s certainly what they gave. The match started fairly solidly for both teams, neither wanting to give away the first points. Despite the strength of the wind on Saturday it didn’t seem to present either team an advantage and so for roughly the first twenty minutes the ball was largely kept in hand. The forwards led by team captain Kev Swift at prop had shown their early domination in the scrum and it was some impressive drives and scrums won against the head that led to Marshall also playing prop to break the deadlock and score the first try of the game and continue his personal tally as this years top try scorer. The St Mary’s fight back was rapid however and after a lengthy kick down field a nasty bounce gave the visitors a break that they should have scored from and it was some impressive tackling from fullback Parker and a fortunate knock on that saved Glossop conceding points. After this the home team rallied and continued to show their strength in the forwards and applied lots of pressure in the St Mary’s twenty two. During this period last week’s hat trick hero Sash injured his leg bringing on Wilson who went to flanker pushing Littlewood to number eight. The pack held strong though and continued to drive well giving Littlewood an eventful time at the back of the scrum, picking up ball won on the visitors put in. Glossop should have scored on numerous occasions but the defensive line held strong. It was eventually undone however by a strong drive over the line by hooker Andy Williamson. After the second try St Mary’s started to lose some of their discipline and penalties for chatting back at the referee became a regular occurrence. Glossop kept their cool and mouths shut and despite their forward supremacy couldn’t capitalise any further before the break. A ten to nothing lead was a fair result going into half time but it certainly wasn’t enough to secure victory. From the kick off St Mary’s made it clear that they hadn’t given, pressing the Glossop defence back into their own twenty two but once again the strong defensive line of the backs and the domination of the scrums by the forwards eventually broke the St Mary’s push and Glossop were back in the visitors’ half. Again the game looked like either team could score but the ball eventually came to winger Ben Thommason whose pace and power took him over the line from a well angled run. Kev Swift also appeared to have scored after a fantastic rolling maul that went over the line but the ref decided that it had been held up. Following this a long session of scrumaging ensued. Almost every scrum was won during this period by Glossop however they couldn’t quite seem to get the ball over the try line despite many attempts. St Mary’s had some strong runners of their own and their efforts were finally rewarded with a try and the added conversion started to put doubts in the Glossop players’ minds who were clearly riled by the frustration of not securing the win. It took a sneaky try from second row Rob Smith, picking up from the base of a ruck and diving over the line to settle those frustrations. Whiston added the two points and the home team were back on track again. After a long kick down field centre Chris Snape put heaps of pressure on the St Mary’s fullback who was tackled and in turn lost the ball giving Snape an easy run in for the try. The game was now settled and Glossop were cruising. Scrum after scrum was won whether the home teams put in or not. St Mary’s didn’t have an answer for the power of the pack or hooking ability displayed by Williamson. The call was made by Swift to get another rolling maul started and soon after he was rewarded with a try from said move. It capped off a great performance in a game that was closer on the field than the score line suggested and deservedly puts Glossop 3rds into the next round of the cup.
Team Sheet - 1. Swift 2. Williamson 3. Marshall 4. Deacon 5. Smith 6. Baughan 7. Littlewood 8. Sash 9. Alderdyce 10. Whiston 11. Thommason 12. Robinson 13. Snape 14. Marsden 15. Parker 16. Wilson 17. Shiels 18. Carrick